Shadowless Scent Seeking Gu

Snow drifted between heaven and earth, wrapping the land in silver.

This winter had been exceptionally long and bitterly cold; even the areas around Qingyuan City had seen many displaced refugees.

Luo Chen still wore his neat training clothes as he stepped through the snow, which crunched beneath his feet.

He arrived at the Demon Suppression Bureau and entered the forging workshop.

The moment he stepped inside, a wave of scorching heat rushed over him.

He had come today to collect the treasure blade forged from Mysterious Gold Iron.

Looking at the burly man sweating before the earthfire furnace, Luo Chen smiled and greeted him.

"Master Li, I've come to collect the treasure blade."

The bare-chested burly man before the furnace turned around, an honest smile spreading across his face.

He took down a long saber from the highest tier of the weapon rack beside him.

"This is my most satisfying work of the past year!"

"I hope you can use it to slay many more Demonic Beasts!"

Luo Chen received it with both hands, and the weight immediately sank into his palms.

As he carefully examined the blade, his satisfaction grew with every look.

The long saber was entirely silver-white and gleaming, yet beneath the light it reflected patterns like fish scales.

The saber was three chi long, with a straight blood groove running down the center of its blade.

Gripping the hilt, Luo Chen poured his blood and qi into the blade. The saber trembled softly, as though it carried an intent to kill and conquer.

"Fine blade! Golden scales shimmer across its body—let it be called Golden Scale!"

"Many thanks, Brother Li. We'll gather at Drunken Immortal Tower another day. Brother Li, you must come."

"Hahaha, of course, of course."

After exchanging a few pleasantries,

Luo Chen left with Golden Scale. Yue Wuchang had summoned all Demon Suppressing Guards today, so he had to be there as well.

When he arrived at the familiar Training Ground, Luo Chen was no longer the newcomer he had once been.

Wang Yue and the others had already arrived, standing together as they waited for Yue Wuchang.

Luo Chen was still under Wang Yue's command, so he naturally went over and stood beside him.

"You brat, it's only been a month, and your strength has improved again!"

"You're only sixteen this year, right?"

Wang Yue looked Luo Chen over and suddenly sighed with feeling.

"The year is nearly over. I'm already seventeen."

"My family recently spent quite a bit of silver to buy several Treasure Fish, and I gained a little from them."

Luo Chen scratched his head and spoke somewhat embarrassedly.

The realm he displayed to others now was Bone Forging Completion.

Of course, that last sentence had merely been an excuse he had casually made up.

Ever since seeing that Latent Dragon Ranking more than half a month ago, Luo Chen had felt that he had somewhat underestimated the geniuses of the world.

Among those geniuses in their twenties who stood near the top of the Latent Dragon Ranking, which one had not displayed talent in youth no less monstrous than his own?

Before long,

Yue Wuchang strode over. In an instant, the hundred-odd martial artists on the Training Ground all fell silent and looked at her respectfully.

Luo Chen did the same. Yue Wuchang had taken good care of him, and he did not become arrogant merely because his true strength had surpassed hers.

Yue Wuchang stood with her hands behind her back, looking over the Demon Suppressing Guards under her command with satisfaction in her eyes.

"The year is nearly over. It should have been a time for relaxation and celebration, but alas, Demonic Beasts do not celebrate the New Year. They have chosen this time to stir up trouble."

"A Demonic Beast faction has appeared within the five-hundred-li territory of Heavenly Severance Mountain under Li Tiankui, Captain Li's jurisdiction.

With Chief Director's approval, five Demon Suppression Captains will join forces to eradicate the demons!"

"Make preparations tomorrow. Once everyone has assembled, we will depart for Heavenly Severance Mountain."

As the mission was announced, the people below immediately answered in unison.

Their momentum was like that of tigers; there was no fear of facing Demonic Beasts, only eager anticipation.

"Good!"

Yue Wuchang nodded to herself and shouted her approval.

"The mission will take at least half a month. Since you'll miss the New Year, return home early today."

Yue Wuchang did not waste any more words. After making the announcement, she left with her hands behind her back.

Though Luo Chen saw some disappointment on everyone's faces, there were even more smiles. He did not understand why.

On the way out with Wang Yue and the others,

Wang Yue did not put on any airs as a superior and explained with a smile.

"A joint demon eradication operation, with five Demon Suppression Captains taking action and several hundred martial artists—experts are as numerous as clouds. There is little danger, and it is instead a fine opportunity to earn merit."

Luo Chen nodded inwardly, a faint anticipation rising in his heart.

I wonder whether you'll come this time, when I leave the city?

"Skin Tempering Demon, I'm starting to hunt you down!"

By the time he returned to Liu Manor, it was already noon.

In his left hand, Luo Chen carried osmanthus cake wrapped in oiled paper, a pastry Yaoyao loved.

The Family gathered around the dining table and shared a warm lunch.

After telling Uncle Liu and Aunt about the joint demon eradication mission at the Demon Suppression Bureau tomorrow,

Liu Xingsheng sighed, and the hand holding his chopsticks paused slightly.

"When you're away from home, you must be cautious."

"Chen'er, you've only been practicing martial arts for a short while. Don't try to show off when you encounter Demonic Beasts," Aunt Madam Wang gently urged.

Only Little One laughed carefree, without a worry in the world.

"I will. Don't worry." Luo Chen revealed a confident smile.

After shaking off the clingy Little One,

he returned to his own courtyard and took out the Black Jar containing Gu worms from the corner of his room.

"It should be about time to refine it today!"

When he opened the Black Jar, only one of the five Flavor Seeking Gu remained.

After being fed blood many times and devouring the origins of the other four, this one had become even stronger.

Its entire body was transparent. When its wings fluttered, they refracted the light, making it seem invisible.

A Second Stage Gu worm, the Shadowless Scent Seeking Gu!

Luo Chen sat cross-legged on a chair and squeezed out a drop of essence blood onto the Gu worm's body.

The Shadowless Scent Seeking Gu's wings fluttered slightly, revealing its unease.

But upon sensing the power of bloodline in the falling drop, its emotions gradually calmed.

It recognized the aura of the one who fed it every day.

Luo Chen circulated the Gu Taming Heart Sutra. Only with his perfected technique could he directly refine a Second Stage Gu worm.

Invisible threads linked the two together.

A faint gleam suddenly lit up in Luo Chen's mind, and he seemed able to follow that gleam to sense another creature's emotions.

Inside the Black Jar, the nearly transparent butterfly fluttered its wings and gracefully landed on Luo Chen's fingertip.

Luo Chen smiled faintly, greatly pleased.

"I hope you can bring me a surprise."

As though it understood, the butterfly on his fingertip gently fluttered its wings in response to its master's words.

"Shadowless Scent Seeking Gu is your kind. Since you are my first Gu worm, I'll call you..."

"Little Butterfly. It suits your appearance perfectly. Not bad!"

Luo Chen was delighted. Today, he had gained the treasure blade Golden Scale and refined another Gu worm.

He had not refined Little Butterfly into his Natal Gu. First, Natal Gu were far too special; they were bound to their master's soul, and if they died, their master would suffer severe damage as well.

Little Butterfly was merely a Second Stage Mortal Gu without any special enhancement. It was not worth it.

There was no need to worry about Subordinate Gu. They could be treated as consumables, and their deaths required no price from their master.

If he encountered some rare and extraordinary Gu in the future, he could consider refining them into Natal Gu.

"My ambition lies in martial arts. The path of a Gu Master is only an aid; I do not need to be like other Gu Masters, unable to improve in strength without a Natal Gu."

Luo Chen stroked his chin and instinctively looked toward the panel deep within his mind.

[Lifespan: 17/130]

"I don't know whether there will be any unforeseen changes on this journey. My strength is still too weak."

"The Skin Tempering Demon is watching like a tiger stalking its prey in the shadows, and I have no idea how strong the Demonic Beast faction causing such a huge commotion is."

"I must obtain a Mysterious Aperture Realm cultivation technique as soon as possible!"